What Do You Do When You Don't Know What To Do?

Today I prayed for a friend and his family. It was one of those times when the Lord made it clear He wanted me to pray for them. So I did. And in obedience and possibly being thought of a fool, I let them know the Lord has their lives in His hands - He asked me to pray. It doesn't happen every day and sometimes not even every month. Often people say "Thank you" but have nothing specific that they know of going on. Doesn't matter to me. I'm just being obedient to what I believe God is calling me to do.

Today my friend responded. I'm not sure what he thought. He was part of another church I Pastored and he left during my time there. But he said: "Thank you. I've been asking God for some wisdom and direction and I'm not hearing anything. I'm not sure what to do."


Everybody struggles with that uncertain feeling from time to time. Here are some things I've found helpful.

1 - Do the next right thing. I'm not sure where this orginated but it's good wisdom. Doing the next right thing is the best thing when you don't know what to do. It's a place to start. Finding yourself feeling trapped is the worst feeling, wondering if you have any options. It's there that we often make our worst choices. This piece of wisdom keeps me on the straight path.

2 - Pray. I mean really pray. Don't pray on the run. Take some moments and pray. Just the other day I was walking through Cornerstone's Worship Center with my fresh, hot mug of tea and I stopped, knelt down and prayed. I was in one of these places with a situation. It helped. It was the next right thing.

3 - Think about Rhythms. When I don't know what to do I think about the rhythms of my life - my spiritual disciplines - my physical exercise - what I'm eating - how I'm sleeping. When I leave a rhythm in my life I don't think as clearly. Returning to it brings clarity to my heart and mind. But there is another side. Sometimes I find breaking a rhythm is helpful.

During my Sophomore year in college I hit a wall physically as a competitive swimmer. It didn't matter how hard I tried or how stretched out and easy I swam - the times were the same. Very frustrating! Turns out there were issues with my left trap muscle and shoulder but in the end I really think I pushed my body as far as it would go.

In the midst of that difficult season Coach Keefe suggested doing something different - "Do something for yourself," he said. My choice at the time was a pint of UDF Ice Cream every day (and I mean every day!). It tasted great, I burned it off in practice and it made a difference in how I felt about this struggle.

Think about rhythms in your life. It may be you need to return to one, shift one or pick up a new one.

4 - Speak the Truth. Not knowing what to do can give us a feeling of being trapped. Sharing your frustration with a friend can help open up new ideas, new options. Speaking out loud about your frustration is like a healing balm itself.

Not knowing what to do gives the feeling of being trapped. These steps open new windows in our emotional dead ends. 

What do you do when you don't know what to do?